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2009-05-13
Chairman Ranasinghe, friends from Microsoft and InfoShare, students, ladies and gentlemen:
On behalf of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, I am honored to be here today to present scholarship awards to 100 youth from the Ampara, Batticaloa, Jaffna, Trincomalee, and Vavuniya Districts. I know that many of you traveled a long way to be here and I am very glad that you were able to make it.
UPP is a partnership between USAID, InfoShare, Microsoft, IDM, The Vocational Training Authority and other regional training institutes. The goal is to develop the information and communications technology, or ICT, skills of students and workers so they can find good technical jobs in the apparel, media, and tourism industries. Our program for agriculture training will also start soon.
These four sectors account for about 39% of all jobs in Sri Lanka and ICT is extremely important to help these companies compete, within Sri Lanka and around the world.
The demand for ICT graduates is greater than the supply. UPP is an important step to address this need by delivering ICT curriculum specific for different industries throughout Sri Lanka. This strong demand means that young people with ICT skills have better job opportunities.
The goals for UPP are quite aggressive. UPP will use this ICT curriculum in more than 40 training centers in Sri Lanka. UPP will train at least 11,250 people by February, 2010. And, UPP will award 2000 scholarships to students throughout Sri Lanka. USAID is funding 500 of these scholarships for students in the East and North, helping young people in conflict-affected areas get the training they need to get good jobs.
Today, we are awarding scholarships to the 100 youth who are here with us. These youth were selected for the scholarship based on qualifications, need, and location. I want to personally congratulate the scholarship recipients and wish you all the best.
I want to also congratulate the newly-selected UPP trainers who will be completing a comprehensive workshop for ICT trainers. You have a great group of new students and I wish you all much success.
I want to also say a few special words of thanks to our partners…first, to the IDM management who is co-hosting this event – you are one of the most active UPP training partners and we thank you for making UPP a high priority at IDM. To the IDM branch managers and trainers – thank you for your hard work in laying the foundation to successfully start the ICT courses at your centers.
Secondly, to our partners at Microsoft and Infoshare – thank you for your commitment to this public and private partnership. Through these partnerships, we are able to utilize our own strengths and leverage our resources to assist more people in Sri Lanka.
There is a famous proverb that says “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” To all the young people here with us today - I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity and use this training to help you build a better life for yourself, your family, and your community.
Thank you.
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